The new Interior Minister Dragos Tudorache announced on Thursday that in two week at the latest he would submit to the Government a reforming plan of the Internal Protection Department (DIPI), the intelligence service of the Interior Ministry. The new minister announced that he would like to clarify DIPI’s jurisdiction area and to get it under the Parliament control.
“My goal is to submit to the Government a first reforming pattern in two week at the latest. First, I want us to clarify DIPI’s jurisdiction area so that it cannot overlap anymore with the other state intelligence services. Secondly, my intention is to get DIPI under the Parliament control, like the other intelligence services, precisely to have make it more transparent and responsible to the Parliament,” minister Tudorache told a press conference.
The actions heralded by the new Interior minister come amidst the latest anti-corruption investigations that brought to light certain irregularities at DIPI.
The most recent investigation revealed that six former DIPI heads and another 18 employees had been prosecuted for corruption charges. The investigation also led to the former Interior minister Petre Toba, who eventually resigned after the DNA had accused of favoring the offender. In a different case, already sent to court, another ex-interior minister, Gabriel Oprea, a former DIPI chief, Nicolae Gheorghe and several employees are charged with illegally spending funds allotted to DIPI.